How to create highly effective social media videos? Ask any netizens, and they’ll confess to spending an ungodly number of hours watching videos on various social media platforms. In fact, there’s a built-in feature in Instagram that lets you know your daily app-usage time. The point is that social media usage in today’s age is extremely common, not only for entertainment and socialization but also for commercial purposes.
Social media platforms have emerged as one of the best mediums out there for marketers to the extent that social media marketing has developed as a separate domain in the study of marketing. And any social media marketer will tell you that visual media reigns supreme over text in the battle for consumer attention.
Now, you might be taking up video creation on social media platforms for a variety of reasons. The purpose might be to grow your personal brand as an industry professional or attain celebrity status (in other words, come to be known as an “influencer”). On the other hand, you might be working to grow your own or someone else’s business on social media platforms. Whatever the purpose behind making social media videos, you will require certain elements and tools to create an effective social media video.
From a blueprint of the whole process to a decent online video editor, you’d want to be prepared beforehand for the whole video creation journey to be effective and timely. But earlier than we get down to the nitty-gritty of video introduction and enhancing, it have to be understood that all social media platforms vary from every different. Understanding those differences will help you tailor each video to the wishes of every social media platform.
Popular Social Media Platforms
First and predominant, the reason of the video as well as its target market needs to be taken into consideration in an effort to make it quite powerful. Are you creating a corporate video with the rationale to reach professionals to your enterprise? If that is the case, it’s best to focus on LinkedIn. On the other hand, if you’re looking to grow your travel videos, it might be wise to shift your focus completely to YouTube and Instagram. With YouTube, the possibility of monetizing your content will boom. Instagram, however, will help you grow a faithful fan base to your non-public logo. Let’s take a brief look at what different social media platforms entail:
Facebook:
On Facebook, you can create a separate page for publishing videos and access the same from your personal account. Apart from that, the copy published with videos also becomes quite important in the case of Facebook.
Instagram:
If there is one social media platform that is immensely popular with newer generations, it’s Instagram. Originally, the platform was intended to post aesthetic snapshots and artworks. Over the course of time, Instagram evolved as a social media platform. Now, people use it for loads of reasons – from posting memes to growing their groups. Moreover, the “influencer culture” also has its roots linked with Instagram.
LinkedIn:
The place where industry professionals like to spend their Saturday evenings. The purpose of LinkedIn is to grow your professional network, find work, and make the presence of your business felt. If you are targeting other brands as a media marketer, LinkedIn is the place to go.
YouTube:
YouTube needs no introduction. It’s the bread-and-butter platform of video creators. All you need to do is come up with a long-term plan for content creation, and be consistent in publishing, and you’ll be good to go.
Remember that you must customize your content based on the social platform you will be targeting. Something that might be acceptable on Instagram would probably not fly on LinkedIn.
Also Read: 10 Best Android Video Editor Apps in 2022: Edit Videos Like A Pro
Pointers for Creating Highly Effective Social Media Videos
Apart from having a DSLR and industry-grade online video editing software at your disposal, you will be required to keep the following pointers in mind to make highly effective social media videos:
1. Identifying the Video Type
Before you set up your shoot, it’s best to first identify the target audience and the kind of video you want to create. We’ve identified four categories of videos to pick from- testimonials, entertainment, interviews, behind-the-scenes, and educational.
Based on the category of your video, choose an appropriate social media platform. For instance, it’s best to go with Facebook and Instagram to publish short and entertaining videos. For lengthy videos, YouTube is recommended. For testimonials and interviews, you could go together with LinkedIn. In maximum instances, you will should publish a unmarried video on more than one platforms in order to ensure that it reaches as many human beings as possible.
2. Setting up the Shoot
If you are using real-time footage, it’s best to ensure that your shots are beautiful. There are several ways to keep your footage aesthetically pleasing. One is to use natural lighting for heightened contrast. If you’re shooting indoors, it’s best to open the curtains and windows. Another critical tip is to use an outside microphone if you may manage to pay for it. For social media motion pictures that contain a lot of discussion among characters, an outside microphone turns into a need as it is able to choose up even the sighs and groans of the actors. In-built microphones aren’t powerful enough to capture all the nuances of an actor’s voice.
It’s also recommended to use a video editor for editing those clips. Certain shots will be set up in certain ways so that they can be edited smoothly and efficiently. Last but not least, keep the props handy and stage-ready. That will help you speed up the whole process and save time.
3. Experimentation, Memes, and Trends
Video creation is art. And at the center of any artistic endeavor resides a sense of experimentation. History tells us that all great artists have always set out to do something courageous, often experimental. From Picasso to Pink Floyd, experimentation with traditions and norms has always been a recurring theme among artists across generations and art forms. In the context of social media videos, it would do you good to experiment with the various features of the platform such as filters and ongoing trends in popular culture. Keep yourself updated with the kind of content that is going viral on various social media platforms. That would help you with inspiration as well as make your video relatable to a larger audience.
4. Attention Spans and Shadow Bans
Golden rule: the first five seconds of your video decide whether the viewer is hooked or not. More so, the average attention span of a content consumer on social media platforms is quite less. Thus, you have to make sure that your video makes an effect as quickly because it hit the play button. Capturing and keeping the eye of your target market is an crucial function of a a success social media marketer.
Another critical component to notice whilst developing with content material for your video is to keep it in keeping with the network guidelines of social media platforms. It’s a very good strategy to include humor in your video. In fact, a lot of brands have utilized the power of memes to grow their brand personality (Netflix, Wendy’s, etc.). Yet, it’s important to remember that you should not cross any boundaries set by social media platforms. Failing to keep your content in line with community guidelines can result in a shadow ban (the algorithm will restrict your posts from reaching a majority of your followers).
5. The Macro Plan
Once you’ve finally created a video with a proper narrative, subtitles, music, and whatnot, it will come down to consistency and metrics. An effective social media video will help you attract a new audience and build a rapport with existing followers. However, retaining them is a whole other ballgame. Make sure that you have a content calendar in place and have finalized videos lined up to be published beforehand. Apart from that, there has to be a post-publishing analysis.
Analyze which video of yours is doing better than others. Then, figure out what unique elements that video has. This will be a constant process to keep your brand/page/channel on a path of steady growth. In the end, effective social media videos have to go hand-in-hand with a macro plan to sustain your presence on social media platforms.
